Device for making measured indications on metal ribbon



Feb. 19, 1957 I. s. LAWSON DEVICE FOR MAKING MEASURED INDICATIONS ON METAL RIBBON Filed Sept. 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l 'INVENTOR. Jam 6'. Lea/saw aw/x4 A :"opNEY Feb. 19, 1957 l. s. LAWSON DEVICE FOR MAKING MEASURED INDICATIONS ON METAL RIBBON Filed Sept. 24, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M 0 I, A

I I im was -ATTORNEY United States Patent MAKING MEASURED INDICATIONS ON METAL RIBBON DEVICE FOR This invention relates to a device for making measured indications at given points on a continuously or inter mittently moving metal ribbon. More particularly, the invention is directed to a device by which measured indications are produced on a ribbon prior to its being passed through a die by which to give it a tubular or other molding shape, and with the indications appearing on the shaped material to enable cutting into the previously measured lengths.

Many articles, such as doors and windows, are provided with molding or trim joined to become frames, and the frame of one door or window must match the corresponding structure of another door or window in certain combinations or organizations. Many of these frames are formed from duplicate parts and these parts, to assure accuracy in assembly and appearance, must be of identical length, even to a fractional part'of an inch.

Molding, as conventionally produced, originates as a spool or reel of metal ribbon. The ribbon is fed into and drawn through forming dies which give it desired shape. As the formed ribbon leaves the dies, it is measured and cut into given lengths. The present methods employed to measure and cut these lengths are not entirely satisfactory for several reasons. First, the measurement is unlikely to be sufficiently accurate, thus rendering the lengths as cut unsuitable for assembly into a properly contoured article. Secondly, any effort to overcome inaccuracies in any measurement,- in order to produce accurate lengths, so slows down the rate of production as to greatly increase the cost of manufacture.

It is a purpose and object of the present invention to provide a device that accurately makes measured indications on a metal ribbon prior to said ribbon being passed through a set of forming dies.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a device thatproduces measured indications in the form of projections which cooperate with the device to determine location of successive projections, the distance between any two adjacent projections representing the length desired for a given molded piece.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of a device that produces measured indications on a metal ribbon in the form of a combined projection and transverse partial depth cut, each projection, following cooperation with the device in a succeeding measurement, being reduced to the plane of the ribbon, thus leaving only a short complete cut and the partial cut as an indication of length in the formed material.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings; in which Fig. 1 is'a lengthwise, vertical, sectional view of the invention, together with a source of ribbon supply, and the entrance end of a conventional forming die, the parts being shown in the operation of forming a measured projection; I

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig; 1 and shows the formed 2,781,816 Patented Feb. 19, 1957 projection as having cooperated with the device to measure a given length of the ribbon;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. land shows an intermediate position of the operative parts of the device;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary lengthwise vertical sectional view of the device, beingsimilar to Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view, taken substantially on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse sectional view, taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of a metal ribbon showing the partial cut and projection formed by the device embodying the invention; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view; taken substantially on the line 8--8 of Fig. 7.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the reference numeral 10 is employed to generally designate a portion of a bed or base on which the invention is supported. This bed, for convenience of illustration, is also shown to constitute a support for a set of forming dies, indicated at 11. Only a portion of the dies 11 are shown, inasmuch as they constitute no part of the invention.

It will be understood that the device embodying the present invention, although intended for use as a means of accurately measuring and marking a metal ribbon prior to its being given a finished shape or contour, also constitutes means by which to enable severance of the finished or shaped material at the points of measurement as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 311,230, filed September 24, 1952.

The device embodying the invention consists principally of two connected units 12 and 13. The unit 12 represents a lower die member 14, having a base 15 that is mounted to slide on a guide 16, carried by the bed 10. The base 15 supports a lower die 17 which consists of a plane, upper surface 18 from which rises a central projection 19. Upstanding guide rods 20, carried by the slidable base 15, serve to locate the die'17 and are enclosed by springs 21 that seat at one end in apertures in the die. An upper die member 22 consists of a base 23 from which depends a die 24. This die is generally L shaped in cross section, the depending portion 26 of which is formed with a central depression 27 adapted to align with projection 19 when the dies meet. Against the forward edge 28 of the portion 26 is located a cutter 29, the cutting edge .31 thereof extending slightly below the depression 27. The rods 20 terminate at their upper ends in the base 23 and the upper ends of springs 21 seat in apertures in the die 24. These rods also serve as a means of accurately locating the upper die member 24. One end of the base 15 is connected by a spring 32 with an end plate 33 attached to the end of the bed 10. Any movement of the dies along the guide 16, in one direction, sufiiciently tensions the spring 32 so that, when the force moving the dies is relieved, the spring will return them to their end of travel on guide 16, wherein they will occupythe position shown in Fig. 3.

The unit 33 includes a base 34 that is mounted for slidable movement on a guide 36. This guide, like guide 16, is fixed on the bed 10 and, in fact, may be a continuation thereof. Secured, in any suitable manner, to the upper face of the base 34 is a block 37. The under face of this block has a full length recess which combines with the base 34 to form a shallow, lengthwise passageway 33. Projecting downwardly through a central slot in the block 37 is a stop plate 39. This plate projects above the block and into the depending yoke 40 of a connector 41. A pin 42, or other suitable means, is employed to secure these parts together. The upper portion of the connector is formed with a yoke 43 that is at right angles to the depending yoke and this yoke serves to mount a lever 44 by means of a pivot pin 46. The short arm 47 of this lever terminates in a depending finger 48 that overlies the block 37. The long arm 49 of the lever rests upon an incline 59 of a block 51 that is permanently attached to the bed 10. Block 51 is of the nature of a bridge and thus includes a horizontal passageway 52 therethrough. The incline 0.of the block faces the .unit13 and serves as a rest for the end 49 of ,arm .44. Units 12 and 13 are connected by one or more rods '53. Thisrod causes the units to move ,as one along their guides 16 and 36 and is removable and replaceable by a longer or shorter rod in order that the space between the units may be altered for operational purposes fliereinaftcr more fully set out.

A trip 57 is mounted on the bed 1%) and has operative connection with a switch 58. This switch is in the electrical circuit of a conventional pressand, when closed, releases the ram 59 thereof for reciprocal movement. Presses of the type suitable for use with this invention are of conventional structure andfrequently actuated by closing the switch of a circuit controlling the press clutch release. Thus, only a portion of a ram 59, constituting a part of such a press, is disclosed, together with an operative switch.

To fully understand the advantages of the present invention, a description of the set up and operation thereof is set out as follows: A spool of metal ribbonSd is placed on a suitable rack 56 to be freely unrolled therefrom. The dies 14 and 22 are separated, substantially as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, and the ribbon 54 is hand fed through the opening between these dies and thence through the recess 38 of unit'13. The stop plate 39 may interfere with passage of the ribbon through unit 13 (see Fig. 3) but this is immaterial inasmuch as this hand operation is primarily to set the device up-for subsequent automatic operation. The units and ribbon are now manually moved fronrthe position suggested in Fig. 3 to that of Fig. 1. Unit 12 new contacts trip 57, closing the switch 58, and

thus actuating the ram 59. The unit 12 being directly beneath this ram, dies 14 and 22 will be brought together. This depresses the ribbon onto the lower die, causing projection 19 to raise a blister 61 centrally of said ribbon. This blister, due to the design of depression 27 and projection 19, is partially cut from the ribbon and thus forms an edged projection, the edge thereof leading with respect to the direction of travel of the ribbon. Simultaneously with forming the blister 61, the cutter 29 has produced a full width transverse cut in the ribbon. The depth of this cut may be varied by adjustment of the cutter, but it will be understood that it does not sever the ribbon nor renders it so weak that the automatic operation hereafter described will fail to function. Thecut, it will be noted, is in line with the cut edge of the blister and thus it may be stated that the ribbon actually receives a deep transverse scoring with a small central severance. Insofar as the blister and out can be shown in a drawing, they are presented in Figs. 7 and 8. While an upstanding projection or blister 61 has been shown, it will be clear that such projection could be equally as well a downwardly extendlag projection or depression to accommodate the stop membcr39. in such case it will be apparent that the stop 39 is engaged by the edge of the advancing metal ribbon adjacent the depression rather than the leading edge of the projection.

The ram 59, of course, has immediately returned to raised position and in so doing permits the action of sprin s 21 to separate diesl iand 22. The units, during this travel, have expanded spring 32 which now functions to return the units to the position of Fig. 3. The ribbon is now manually fed through units 12 and 13 until the formed blister contacts stop plate 39. From this point on, hand feeding the ribbon will move the units along their guides, and unit 12 will again actuate the ram 59 to produce a second blister and cut in the ribbon. At this point, it will be noted that the arm 49 of lever 44 has moved up the incline 50 to an extent to bring the finger 48 into contact with the upper surface of the block 37. Continued feeding of the ribbon will move the units from the position of Fig. l to that of Fig. 2. This movement causes the arm 49 to ride further up on the incline 50 and, with the finger 48 as fulcrum, the lever now lifts stop plate 39 to a position above the blister 61. This serves two purposes, namely,- to permit feeding the ribbon through unit 13 and allow the spring 32 to return both units tothelposition shown in Fig. 3. With return of the units, the lever 44 moves down the incline 50 and allows the stop platetorest on the upper surface of the ribbon where it will be in position to be contacted by the .next'blister.

Providing the end portion of the ribbon beyond the first blister is of suflicient length, said ribbon may now be fed into the forming dies 11. Of course, the entrance rolls in such dies are power driven and serve to grip and draw the ribbon into and through the dies. These rolls tend to straighten the ribbon also, and, inpar'ticular, they will flatten each blister so that, upon completion of the forming operation, the material shows only the partial cut with a short through gash or central severance.

From the time that the ribbon has entered the forming dies, the operation of making measured indications thereon becomes automatic and may proceed as rapidly as the'forming die can be operated. It is to be particularly noted that the device is capable of measuring and indicating different lengths bysimply removing rod 53 and replacing it with a longer or shorter one, as may be required. If considerable distance between measured indications is required, it would, of course, be necessary to increase the length of guides '16 and 36 and to relocate the block 51. However, these changes in nowise affect the operation of the device.

From-the foregoing, it is evident that, by merely connecting theunits in given spaced relationship in order that the cutter 29 and stop plate 39 will be separated to the desired length of a finished piece, the indications or partial cuts will be accurately located and the material. when out along such indications, will produce finished pieces of exactly uniform length.

Although applicant has shown and described only one form of the invention, it will .be understood that modifications of the structure shown and described may be made and are to be considered as being within the spirit and scope of the invention insofar as they are set out in the annexed claims.

Having thus set forth my invention, what I claim as new and for which I desire protection by Letters Patent 1. In a device for preparing .a moving strip of metal ribbon for making formed articles of measured length and predetermined cross-sectional shape, the combination of a rack for supporting a coil of sheet metal ribbon, a support adjacent said rack, 21 set of dies mounted on the support for movementlongitudinally thereof from a starting position, means biasing said dies toward starting position, stop means mounted on the support a predetermined distance in advance of the dies and connected thereto for movement therewith, means actuated by longitudinal movement of said dies' for initiating the operation ofsaid dies to form a transverse score and temporary open edged projection adjacent thereto in the stripso that the strip can be subsequently readily broken at the line of score, roller means in advance of the stopmeans for continuously moving the stripfor bringing the projection into engagement with the stopmeans and for subsequently fiattening the projection, and means fixed on saidsupport in advance of said stop means for releasing the stop means so that said biasing means can return the stop means and the set of dies to starting position, the arrangement being such that as the projection on the strip engages the stop means, the die and stop means will move on the support for a predetermined amount of movement whereupon the dies will be actuated to form a combined score and projection, the stop releasing means will release the stop from the projection, and the stop means and the set of dies will return to starting position.

2. In a device for preparing a moving strip of metal ribbon for making formed articles of measured length and predetermined cross-sectional shape, the combination of a support, a rack for supporting a coil of sheet metal ribbon adjacent one end of said support, means adjacent the other end of said support to advance said metal strip longitudinally of said support, a set of dies mounted on the support for movement longitudinally thereof from a starting position, resilient means for biasing said dies toward starting position, stop means mounted on the support a predetermined distance in advance of the dies and connected thereto for movement therewith, means fixed on said support in advance of said step means to release said stop means upon predetermined movement of said dies and stop means, means in the path of movement of the set of dies for initiating the operation of said dies to form a transverse score and temporary open-edged projection adjacent thereto in the strip so that the strip can be subsequently readily broken at the line of score, said strip advancing means including a pair of rollers for continuously moving the strip for bringing the projection into engagement with the stop means and for subsequently flattening the projection, whereby when the projection on the strip engages the stop means, the dies and stop means will move on the support for a predetermined amount of movement whereupon the stop releasing means will release the stop from the projection to permit the biasing means to return the stop means and the set of dies to starting position.

3. In a device for preparing a moving strip of metal ribbon for making formed articles of measured length and predetermined cross-sectional shape, the combination of a rack tor supporting a coil of sheet metal ribbon, a support adjacent said rack, 21 set of dies mounted on the support for movement longitudinally thereof from a starting position, means biasing said dies toward starting position, stop means mounted on the support a predetermined distance in advance of the dies and connected thereto for movement therewith, means actuated by longitudinal movement of said dies for initiating the operation of said dies to form a transverse score in the strip so that the strip can be subsequently readily broken at the line of score and to form .a temporary open edged projection adjacent to said transverse score to accommodate said stop means, roller means in advance of the stop means for continuous-ly moving the strip to advance the projection toward said stop means and for subsequently flattening the projection, and means fixed on said support in advance of said stop means for releasing the stop means so that said biasing means can return the stop means and the set of dies to starting position, the arrangement being such that the dies and stop means Will move with the strip for a predetermined amount of movement whereupon the dies will be actuated to form a combined score and projection, the stop releasing means Will release the stop, and the stop means and the set of dies will return to starting position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 516,696 Bartlett Mar, 20, 1894 670,373 Keiser Mar. 19, 1901 1,610,860 Kellogg Dec. 14, 1926 1,669,999 Olsen May 15, 1928 1,965,533 Lyon July 3, 1934 2,234,999 Yoder Mar, 18, 1941 2,620,879 Fechter Dec. 9, -2 

